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24 April 2014

You must be given 20 days' notice before blacklistingIolProperty - South Africa
Before a credit or service provider can report any negative information about you to a credit bureau, it must give you 20 days' notice that it intends to list 'default' information on your credit report. Once this default information is listed, you're commonly referred to as having been 'blacklisted'.

You have the right to be notified so that you have an opportunity to resolve the dispute with your credit and/or service providers and ensure the integrity or accuracy of the information on your credit report. Protecting your credit report is important, because it is used to determine whether or not credit will be extended to you.

The National Credit Act (NCA) states that it is your right to be notified by a credit or service provider that it intends reporting negative information about you to a credit bureau.IolProperty

Are three bedroom apartments worth it?Lightstone - South Africa
Lightstone, a provider of comprehensive data, analytics and systems on property and business assets looks at whether three bedroom apartments are worth it.

Property and real estate moguls currently make up the third largest group of self-made billionaires on the Forbes 400 list. It’s not surprising that the majority of them made their fortune in countries with densely populated cities such as those found in South-East Asia, the United States and Europe. Since a higher concentration of people living in an area increases the demand and value of land, these entrepreneurs realised that the future of property expansion was skywards.

In South Africa, luxury is still associated with large yards and proportionally large property sizes but with the increase in population densities in metro areas, residential apartments might become a more feasible living option. In Sandton, for example, the average freehold property is valued at approximately 150% more than a sectional title property.

Even though the amount of bedrooms and bathrooms in these two types of properties generally differ, we expect a large portion of the price difference to remain when comparing like-for-like properties due to sought-after luxuries like a big lawn, a swimming pool and solitude that is generally associated with luxury freehold properties.Lightstone

Joburg reinvents itself as Africa's hotspotMoneyweb - South Africa
Jozi is changing its image from an ugly crime-ridden city to a dynamic and exciting place to be. In the long-abandoned Maboneng neighbourhood of Johannesburg in South Africa, old industrial buildings now mingle with trendy cafes and fashion shops.

An old brick building with a garden has been converted into an arts centre. More than 50 businesses have sprung up, including a gym and a night club.

A residential building with 190 flats has risen on a street dotted with restaurants and teeming with life. "Six years ago, hardly anybody was living in 10 derelict buildings that have now been renovated," says Hayleigh Evans from the Maboneng Regeneration Project.